Why are Americans so shortsighted

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Politics- Americans tend to only remember things that happen recently. (Obama Administration) Completely forgetting about events that happened during the Bush 43rd presidency and beforehand.

Gas Prices- When gas prices (where I was at) were around a dollar in the late 90's and early 2000's people where buying Gas Guzzlers in droves. Mainly because they could "Afford it". Not realizing that gas prices could go up and in some cases go up significantly. So some Jo Blow buys a Hummer in 2003 because "he could afford it". (Gas was $1.20 in 2003) 5 years later he loses his job in the 2008 recession. Can't afford gas ($4.00 a gallon) and still making car payments. Can't get a more efficient car due to Hummer payments and significant drop of trade-in value on Hummer. Plus even if he could trade said Hummer for a efficient car it would take a long time to break even, even with the efficiency. Sounds like a big Catch-22 to me, a sedan, or a small pick-up or SUV would have been a better option.

People need to plan ahead. Just because they could afford a gas guzzler in 2001 doesn't mean they could afford it even in 2005. (when gas hit $2) Gas prices go up, people lose jobs, car insurance goes up if in accident. Car repairs need to be done (some expensive) within life of car. As an 11 year old in 2001 people laughed when I said gas prices will be over $3 by 2007, Including my 5th grade teacher. Given our hunger for oil and the September 11th attacks. Plus another war waged in the Middle East by some Neocons in Washington, with help from a wayward English Prime Minister.

Because all people are short sighted and irrational, to some extent.

Check out the work of Daniel Kahnemann.

I think the point is that Americans are a special kind of short sighted and irrational.

Almost as if they have the lion's share of shortsightedness and irrationality.

Why would we half-ass anything?

I don't know. Politically, we are pretty short-sighted here in Canada as well, so it's probably unfair to single out the US in this. lol If people don't feel the same about their politics in Europe then perhaps it's actually a North American phenomenon rather than an American one specifically.

I know at least one person that when gas went up to $3 they screamed bloody murder. It went to $4 and, of course, they screamed louder. Then it went back down to $3 and the same people that screamed about $3 gas less than one year ago were all the sudden talking about buying a new non-fuel efficient vehicle because at $3 they said gas was cheap again.

Mine only gets about 20 mpg but I knew that and accepted it when I bought it. I don't b***h about the mpg's but I do b***h about the gas prices. Anything over about $1.25 - $1.50 for 87 octane is highway robbery.

How about the Germans missing their CO2-reduction goals because they dumped nuclear power?

Their plan is to replace it with wind and solar, but the pitfall of making that switch is that they'll have to rely on widely dispersed generation facilities to make up for erratic output in any one region. That means more transmission lines, which means that they'll need more copper. Since it's been in shortage globally since 2006, that means more mining, and we're already having environmental trouble in Minnesota and elsewhere as a result:

http://www.startribune.com/local/250138951.html

On the same topic, one of the best arguments for electric cars is that charging them at night and using them in the day evens out demand for power. Unfortunately, that assumes a steady output from local plants. Solar power peaks in the day, which is the worst match to the consumption profile of e-cars.

And since we're on the topic of gas guzzlers, may I remind you of the inconsistency of the left when it comes to global warming statistics?

If you're going to say that the evidence for anthropogenic climate change is beyond debate, then the safety of nuclear power is really beyond debate.

There were no radiation deaths from Three Mile Island or Fukushima. There were were 31 deaths directly resulting from Chernobyl, which was as bad a disaster as you're likely to have. If you really work at it, you can make a case that about 55 people died as a semi-direct result, but then it's time for a reality check: What else are you going to use? We've had somewhere between 40,000 and 2 million years to perfect fire, the man-made portion of which still kills hundreds of people every year. (Is that low-ball? It may be a lot higher.)

If you add in every lung cancer death among uranium miners (many of whom smoked), it's still a lot lower than coal mine deaths. I'd guess that it's also a lot lower than oil industry deaths, but I don't have that figure handy.

If you add the estimated increase in malignancy deaths as a result of commercial nuclear power accidents, it's much smaller than estimates of respiratory deaths resulting from smog.

None of the numbers are even slightly close. In fact, if you made a complete switch to wind and solar, the increase in wildfires resulting from having more transmission lines to blow down might kill people at a higher rate than commercial nuclear power has. It doesn't take much: 55 deaths in the whole world over a half-century is a pretty damned low rate.

That's another thing to touch base on. People who buy vehicles they can't afford the gas for. (Or if they do they b***h and moan and mooch gas money off others.)

I actually knew someone who drives 100 miles round-trip each day to school for a few years. ( Unemployed while at it.) In 2011 he buys a 4x4 Jeep Liberty that barely gets 16 MPG on a good day. Not realizing it would cost $20 in gas each day. Then he b*****s and moans about said mileage. Until his friend (who car pools with him) offers to pay for 90% of the gas cost. This is right after telling him to get small to mid-size car with a 4 cylinder. (Or a good V6.) His friend drives that same distance each week now in a Toyota Corolla. He now burns not much more than $10 in gas.

I have an older Astro van passed down from dying relative. Love the van but only manages 18 MPG. (21 if doing long Highway trips) However I don't make car payments or anything and don't pay much on insurance.(Repairs have been cheap to boot.) Plus it can haul the family as well as recycling to the scrapyard. Because of that I accept the van for what it is. I use it to haul people and cargo. If I don't I use my GF's Grand Prix thats gets 25. I use to van to haul stuff or as backup when other car is being serviced. I pay for gas myself and don't b***h about it.

Last edited by gamefreak on 20 May 2014, 9:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.

American society has an unusual level of fear. Among the reasons for this are the dog-eat dog attitude that is instilled in the american mind from birth, constant media fear-mongering and glorification of militarism and ultra violence, having to live alongside people who are tortured by a brutal exploitative capitalism; who take that rage and project it out into the world: a constant barrage of hatred, and threat. This is not the kind of stimulus likely to lead a person to deep reflection and sober analysis. It's the kind of stimulus likely to lead one to seek pharmaceutic help. The U.S has the highest drug use by a wide margin, of course, and it has been conjectured that this might have something to do with the current state of political insanity and lack of empathy.

Last edited by Stannis on 20 May 2014, 10:18 pm, edited 6 times in total.

^^^ Do you live in the US?

It does??

Are YOU on drugs??

And we're to believe your analysis above was done while sober?

Not this kid.

Where did you find this little nugget of information?


Have you ever actually been to the United States?

Are you going to talk to guys about how much gas you save with your "pansy electric tin can",
or talk about the power, torque and RPMs of your low gas mileage Hummer / V8 Hemi/ muscle car ?

Can you feel the masculinity ?



Depicted: "Fast and Furious 7"

Last edited by LoveNotHate on 20 May 2014, 10:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I feel this thread is dealing with silly stereotypes.

I'll take this SUV anyday over some candyass eco electric/hybrid POS.
Note that it also compliments Stannis's analysis about America's hatred, dog-eat-dog culture of torture and ultra-violence, and all that other good s**t.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHHj8IavEjk[/youtube]

Sure Americans have short memories. Look at how the tea party and the radical rigth of the Republican party has deified Ronald Reagan. Almost everything they say about him as a severely uncompromising conservative is imagined, refusing to admit that he in fact had raised taxes, worked across the aisles with Democrats, and even passed a law ensuring that the indigent can't be turned away from emergency rooms. In fact, had he lived today, they'd be calling him a RINO (Republican In Name Only).

Driving a particular vehicle just to appear masculine is totally messed up. Just because you can afford to drive a 600 HP land barge on steroids doesn't make it a good choice. Unless you are doing lots of towing or hauling lots of people and cargo I see no use for anything larger than a sedan or hatchback. The more oil we use than more prices go up, also the more pollution goes in the air. Especially if you suck at parking a vehicle.

To me a car is just a tool to get from point A to point B. Without costing a boatload of money to insure, gets decent gas mileage, is relatively inexpensive on repairs and is practical to boot.

Consider countries like Venezuela that have $0.18 gas prices. Your average car is a rusted out 1970's Full-Size Ford belching out black smoke. If in prime condition this car only manages 10 MPG imagine if it was in that condition. You'll be lucky to get 6 to the gallon. However people in Venezuela see no need to change because "They can afford the gas". Caracas has some of the worst pollution to water and air in the world. Some of it as the result of emissions, others as a result of poor environmental regulations.

Last edited by gamefreak on 20 May 2014, 11:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.